MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP INTERNATIONAL
MRG’s Africa Regional Information officer, Mohamed Matovu, talked to Paul Oleyo, the Executive Director of Boma Community Initiative (a Sudanese organisation working on peace-building based in Boma, Jonglei State , South Sudan) on the situation for minority communities in the South amidst the referendum vote.
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Have members of minority communities embraced the exercise with as much enthusiasm?
Unfortunately not. Firstly, because many of them have systemically been excluded from political participation over time, many don’t really know what is happening right now or its implications for their situation. Secondly, many of them live in ‘hard to reach’ areas and because there were no provisions for vehicles or other transport means to carry ballot papers, many will sadly not participate. Thirdly, due to inter-ethnic clashes, some community members fear it is not safe for them to move to some voting centres.
Is this security scare a spill-over of the violent episodes that have been reported in the disputed Abyei region?
No doubt. Moving forward, it’s as if the referendum result is a foregone conclusion. However, tension is now rising regarding the ownership of Abyei and this situation is not helped by self-seeking politicians who are playing the ethnic card to incite violence. For instance, the Government of South Sudan is accused of supporting the Dinka in Abyei to vote in favour of joining the South while the Khartoum government is accused of supporting the Missseriya, Arab nomads who claim grazing rights for their cattle in Abyei, to vote in favour of joining the North. The result has been those clashes you read about in the media and there may be more if the situation is not handled intelligently.
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